Fixing what is broken
by nightmarelover
Summary: No one sees it, but Mike is breaking. Alison realizes he is the perfect tool and so she brings him into her group. However, her feelings make her question if he is just a tool or something more.


**Chapter 1**

Alison DiLaurentis was the queen bee of Rosewood High. She had it all. She was the most beautiful girl there. She was also a fair person. Alison knew that there were some other girls in the school who were just as beautiful as she was if not more because of there personalities.

She generously gave four of them the opportunity to be friends with her and they all accepted. That was the smartest thing they could have done. There was one girl who didn't and now she is blind. There are rumors that this girl, who goes by the name Jenna was getting her sight back. Still the status of Jenna's sight is an issue for another time.

Those four girls that became friends with Alison were Aria Montgomery, Emily Fields, Hanna Marin, and Spencer Hastings. They also were good little puppets for the most part. Think about it.

Aria was a follower, Emily liked her, and Hanna was too naïve to question her. Spencer was a thorn in her side more often than not. It surprised her because they were half sisters. Still in the end she reluctantly bowed to her authority and for the longest time she was on top and everything was perfect.

However, the good times came to an end for a while.

* * *

><p>Now the queen bitch is back in charge. Mona Vanderwaal actually thought she was going to get her to leave Rosewood forever. She left once. Alison was here to say. She would either be the one running everything here or she would be killed here trying.<p>

That is why Mona will never beat her. Alison is willing to risk everything to get what she wants. She is so brilliant that all of the risks have been calculated. Of course anyone who even possesses half a brain would tell you to be sure you know what you are doing when you risk it all.

Mona used to be like that. She wasn't afraid to get her hands dirty back then. Back then Alison might have considered her a threat. That time in Radley really did a number on her.

She was still a bitch that's for sure. However now she was only dangerous when she had someone to back her up. The one thing that bothered Alison was Mona knew enough information to control the Liars but she didn't and Alison knew them personally for years.

Then she found out that she was with Aria's little brother. She had to hand it to Mona. This was a perfect plan if it was indeed a plan and there isn't any real feelings there. The plan was brilliant.

First, she distances herself from Aria and the others. That wasn't part of her plan, that was Alison's doing. All is fair in love and war. Then she gets with Aria's little brother. Alison knew for a fact that Mike knew all of Aria's secrets. He even knew the ones that Alison herself had no idea existing. This made him the most valuable piece in Mona's army of losers.

Of course, Alison knew already about that army of hers. She wasn't going to let that army continue to grow at the rate it was. She had Cindy and Mindy. They were the first ones to defect from Mona's army.

Well to be honest Mindy was the one she recruited. Alison didn't trust Cindy but Mindy had vouched for her. She wasn't too worried about Mindy's loyalty because she had made it crystal clear what would happen to her if she ever was disloyal in any way.

Cindy however was another story. She was loyal to her for now but she would have to be tested regularly since Cindy is only reluctantly following orders. If she was disloyal, she was smart enough to disappear where Alison or her group could never find her.

However these thoughts would have to put to the side for a minute. It was lunch time at Rosewood High and Alison was sitting with Cindy and Mindy. It was time for there first big assignment. If it went well, Alison would be able to see just how useful a piece Aria's brother Mike really was.

Alison got there attention before speaking to them.

" Today after school I want you to go to the Montgomery house and spy. Aria needs to be kept in check so it is vital you two find something useful while you were there." She then turned to Cindy and said " go get my phone from my locker."

After Cindy was gone Alison turned to Mindy.

" You see that guy over there."

" That is Aria's little brother Mike."

Alison was relieved that she didn't have to explain that part. " I want you to go over there and become friends with him. Mona thankfully doesn't realize how valuable he can be to her. He needs to be recruited before she does. I also want you to get to that house as soon as possible after school. I really don't care too much if Cindy is there or not but it is vital you are there. Something tells me that something bad is going to happen to him. Unfortunately that cant be avoided entirely if I am right. If I am right it is vital that he does not die. Having him as a tool could be very useful. Now go and make friends with him."

* * *

><p>Aria Montgomery was watching this scene also. She had no idea what Alison wanted from her brother but she was going to find out. At one point though she looked scared which worried Aria.<p>

She has known Alison DiLaurentis for a long time now. If she is scared of something, then that something must be incredibly dangerous. They may be on the same level A is. Then one chilling thought went through her mind. What if that something was worse than A?

Aria didn't think anyone could be worse than A. However, if anyone knew someone worse than A it would be Alison. To Aria, the situation looked like Alison wanted to warn Mike about something.

That would explain the worried look. After all, A or someone possibly worse than A could be watching at this very moment. This would also explain why she sent someone else to do her dirty work. No one would get suspicious if she sent someone else, but it would raise immediate red flags if she did it herself.

How was she going to get answers from Mike? She tried to get answers from him about Mona before. That never worked. It only made Mike angry and uncooperative. In fact he almost revealed her relationship with Ezra to everyone.

Thankfully Mona decided to stop him that time. It didn't make Aria feel any better though. She was more worried than ever. Mona helped her but she doubted it was out of kindness. After all, Aria and her friends pushed Mona away before. So now they all have to watch out for Mike and Mona.

Aria just realized what this meant. Son of a bitch, this meant if she wanted answers she would have to get them from Alison. Wont that be fun? Trying to get answers out of her is like trying to enjoy a tooth extraction. There had to be a way to get information out of her.

She had got a text from Ezra. This was perfect. Maybe she needed to give him another guy to talk to. She had texted Ezra telling him exactly what she wanted him to do. She also told him he would be alone till about 4:00 pm. This plan couldn't fail.

* * *

><p>Mindy knew that when she joined Alison she would have to expect anything and everything to happen. However, she didn't expect this assignment. How was she going to make friends with Aria's brother in one lunch period?<p>

Luckily he was sitting alone. Mindy knew Aria had something to do with it with the way he kept glaring at her. This may not be so hard after all. Mindy was practically a genius. If she could get the ball rolling then this mission would be a successful one.

She wasn't a wordsmith but she will give it her best shot. Hopefully her best shot was good enough. She shuddered at the mere thought of what would happen if it wasn't. Alison made it very clear that failure would be dealt with swiftly and harshly.

Her thoughts continued to worry her until she got to Mike's table where he was still sitting alone. It was now or never. She decided to ask a simple question to start.

"Can I sit with you?"

Mike Montgomery was shocked. For starters most people in school tend to avoid him like the plague. He had an odd feeling that Aria had something to do with this. The people who don't avoid him never ask him. They tell him. They order him. So it was a shock that someone was asking him if they can sit with him.

He said yes and she sat down next to him. Mindy was shocked. It shouldn't be this easy but she certainly wasn't going to say anything about it. It wasn't time for celebration yet. She still had to make friends with him before the school day was done.

" How are you?"

Again he was shocked. No one really cared enough to ask him that.

" I've been better to tell you the truth."

" What's wrong"

" A better question to ask would be what isn't wrong. First, there is Aria. She goes sticking her nose in other peoples business. Then something bad happens. It wasn't bad at first but now I get the blame. She knows I am being blamed but does she say anything? No. The only person Aria cares for is Aria."

This would be easy. Mike wants to say a lot. All Mindy has to do is listen to him. Judging by his tone, she guessed that not a lot of people listened to him. She knew the feeling. The one good thing that came out of being on Mona's side was that she had developed perfect listening skills from having to hear all of Mona's rants.

" Then there is lacrosse. I am one of the best players on the team if not the best player. Nobody cares. I never see dad or mom at any game and Aria's probably too busy screwing Ezra or some other guy to ever come."

Cindy knew that Mike was hurt already but not the extent. He must have been hurt pretty bad if he is just giving this sort of information about his sister away. This was too easy. However, Mike wasn't done yet.

" and it all might be over."

Bingo. There was the ticket that could make this mission a success.

" Why would it all end if you are that good?"

Normally at this point everyone would have stopped listening to him. At least there was someone out there who actually cared about him enough to hear him out.

" I am that good of a player. The problem is that I am not that good of a student. I am failing History and Math and if I don't get the grades up soon I will be kicked off the team."

" I could help you with that. Math and History are really easy for me. I can help you bring your grade up."

" You would do that for me?"

" Of course I would that is what friends are for. What time should I come over?"

Mike was about to respond but there was something going on out of the corner of his eye. He turned to see what it was and what do you know it was Aria. It looked like she was trying to get him to not invite her over.

She wasn't going to tell him what to do anymore. " You should come by around 4. I would go through the back door though. Aria is usually pressed up against the front door trying to swallow Ezra's tongue."

" I have to get back to my twin sister now. See you at four."

* * *

><p>Alison was pleased. This plan had went off without a hitch. As an added bonus Aria looked pissed at the end. Still there was something bothering her and it wasn't that bad feeling from earlier.<p>

It wasn't worry that Mindy would fail either. She was smart enough to succeed and she might even be friends with Mike now. It didn't matter as long as she was successful. She was bothered by Mike's instant cooperation.

True Aria was never a good sister to Mike but she wasn't that horrible was she? Her perfect tool may be damaged now but if her bad feeling from earlier was correct than this perfect tool may be broken before she even had a chance to use him.

This wouldn't usually bother Alison. Normally she would just get rid of that tool and move on to the next one but this time is different. Most of the tools she had used in the past were evil, nasty people who quite frankly deserved what they got.

However, Mike was different. She didn't have any feelings for him but he has pretty much been a victim all of his life. She used to be one herself. It was funny that they first became victims because of an older sibling. The difference was that Alison got stronger and her dad was always in her corner. Mike was strong but is still a victim because of the continuous disappointment and abuse. He didn't have someone like her father in his life.

She actually felt a little bad for him. She may be a bitch, but even she has a heart. This plan would actually benefit him if Mindy really was trying to be friends with him instead of just trying to please her.

Now Mindy was back at her table so now she could find out just how successful this plan on hers was.

" How did it go?"

" It went . . . . . better than expected."

" You don't sound very happy about your success."

" Its not that. Don't get me wrong I am happy. I'm just surprised it went that well."

" Why are you surprised?"

" I am surprised because he is that cooperative. Just by talking to him I could tell he has been heavily damaged and this damage shows no sign of stopping yet."

Alison feared she would say something like this but still she had to know.

" He isn't broken is he?"

" As far as I can tell no. However, because of all the damage he has already suffered he will break soon. The good news is since he now knows he has a friend he may not brake beyond repair."

That was good news. Still there was question she had to have the answer to.

" How much time do we have before it happens?"

" You don't have much time that's for sure. If I had to guess I would say with the way he is going he will break . . . . today."

Alison now had an explanation for that bad feeling.

" What time did he say to come over?"

" Around 4."

" You have to get there before that time. If I had to guess , I would say he would be alone in the house until 4. That would give someone a window in which to hurt or kill him and then quickly dispose of evidence."

Mindy agreed. With him being alone until then and knowing the secrets that he does, he could very well be a target. Mike is probably more of a target now because he is willing to spill all of those secrets.

Which secret was it though? If they found that one secret that would make someone kill Mike to protect it, then you have the attacker before he gets a chance to do anything.

Mindy thought about it for a brief moment. The answer was obvious. Mike had just told her that one secret.

" Its Ezra."

" What?"

" Ezra is the bad thing that will happen to him Alison. He knows all about the affair between him and Aria. Mike probably has evidence of the affair somewhere. Also, Ezra did seem worried about something earlier. He kept muttering " mustn't find out" over and over when he thought no one was listening."

Cindy had overheard something on her way to get her phone that Alison would want to know.

" Mindy is right. Ezra is willing to kill him and he will try it today. Ezra had dropped his phone and when I had picked it up there was a text from Aria telling Ezra that Mike would be home alone. The text also said that Aria asked Ezra to talk to him during that time."

" He's a sitting duck. Now we are caught between a rock and a hard place. If Mindy shows up too early, then Ezra would just go home and try again later. We also know what will happen if she shows up too late."

" What do we do?"

" You just show up early. Ezra may attack him but he wont kill him. Ezra will probably leave him somewhere outside to bleed to death. The good news is that he wont have anytime to bury him if you get there quickly."

With that being said Alison turned to Cindy. She knew it would be a good idea to have a second person there but she wasn't sure of Cindy's loyalty. After all if you can betray once you can easily do it again.

Also, this way she will be sure Cindy will get the work done without having Mindy do it for her.

" Cindy you go spy on Hanna. I learned that she regrets ending things with Mike. I know she plans on trying to fix things but I don't know how."

" Wouldn't things be easier if Mike was with Hanna?"

Alison thought about it. It may make things easier but there was too great a chance of that making things extremely difficult. After all, taking Mike from Mona would be easy. For one thing, Mona didn't know what she had at her fingertips. Hanna knows she missed her chance the first time and is now looking for a second chance. If she got it, things would be much harder. Also, it would be easier to take Mike from Mona than taking him from Hanna. Mona may fancy herself the leader of some powerful group but in reality she is still a lone wolf. Hanna has Aria. If Hanna did get with him, He could end up under Aria's thumb.

Still it was good to know that Cindy was thinking even though she was questioning her orders.

" It will be much easier getting Mike's loyalty if we only have to deal with Mona. Taking him from Mona would make us like heroes in a way. Taking him from Hanna would make us hated and despised. Now after school go to Hanna's house and spy on her. See how she plans to get back with Mike. Don't do anything else unless Hanna plans on going to his house. In that case , stop her."

How the hell was she supposed to stop Hanna? Unlike Mike, Hanna is not an easy target and would probably catch Cindy spying on her. This is another one of Alison's many loyalty tests.

Normally she just got Mindy to do it but it looks like Alison had quickly realized what she was doing. Cindy should known Alison would have figure it out quickly. After all, her style of work is different than Mindy's. So it was a logical conclusion that Alison came to when she found Mindy's work on three consecutive loyalty tests.

At least she had the easier job. As long as Hanna didn't go over to Mike's she doesn't have to do anything really. Maybe it was Mindy who was being punished for helping Cindy during her last three loyalty tests.

It was a logical conclusion since Mindy had the harder assignment. Of course it could also be because Mindy was the one who did most of the work between them. She wonders if Alison realizes how big an obstacle she could truly be. For one, she is Mike's girlfriend. He shouldn't want anything to do with Alison, Mindy, or herself. He must have been as damaged as Alison and Mindy predicted.

It was rare that they got it perfect the first time. I guess having a sense of urgency can be a benefit at times instead of just a curse.

* * *

><p>Mike was in his last class of the day and thankfully it is Physical Education. It was a good way to let off steam without getting into trouble.<p>

They were doing a football unit in gym so it was perfect for Mike. Unfortunately, the class and the school day had come to an end. The good news was that it was Friday and that meant he could sleep in tomorrow.

Once he drove home he immediately took out his Math and History books and began with History since he was doing worse in that. He hoped he could get something done before Mindy got here at 4.

It was 3:30 and he still didn't understand any of it and that meant the homework wouldn't be able to be completed until then. So with history being a bitch, he tried the math homework.

He finished at least seven of the problems before he got a call from Mona. She called earlier and had said she was sick today so it was good to hear from his girlfriend.

" Hey"

"How are you feeling?"

" I am feeling better now."

" What happened? You were fine after I took you home yesterday."

Mona was debating what to tell her boyfriend. She didn't want to lie to him but news like this will hurt him. After all, how can you tell your boyfriend that his sister played a part in his girlfriend being injured. Luckily Aria had snapped out of whatever daze she was in and fought the guy off. This story was so confusing would Mike even believe it? She is not even sure of all the details herself. Why would Aria seemingly set her up just to save her moments later?

" Are you still there?"

" Yea its just . . . . . you're never going to believe what transpired."

" Aria had something to do with it didn't she?"

Maybe he would believe what happened.

" She was talking to the guy who attacked me right before he attacked."

Mike was angry. First some bastard has the nerve to attack his girlfriend. That was bad enough as it is. Now that his sister Aria was involved he was one step away from killing someone.

" She set you up?"

" I am not sure to be honest. He did attack me but she did save me a few moments later. She was standing too far away to really see what was going on but when Aria did come close enough to see she had stopped him immediately."

Now Mike was really confused. This made no sense. Did Aria set her up or not? If she did what was the point in saving her two seconds later?

" Maybe she was trying to stop him from getting in trouble."

" Makes sense. After all, he didn't get to do much of anything before Aria stopped him. Nothing was broken, it was just a bunch of bruises that are starting to fade as we speak. I couldn't even see the guys face so there is no way to identify him. That means there is no chance of making him suffer for what he has done to me."

" Maybe but Aria is a different story."

" True but we have nothing on her we can use."

" That's not entirely true."

" What do you mean?"

" We may not be able to do anything to Aria physically but we can deal a crushing blow by revealing the one secret she would do anything to keep."

Her boyfriend was talking about Ezra sleeping with Aria. It was a good idea that's for sure. Once the secret comes to life, it would all be over for Ezra. He would lose his job for starters. He would also wind up in jail because of this. Still she had to point out the one flaw in this idea.

" We don't have any physical evidence of this happening."

" Well your half right anyway."

" What do you have?"

" I have enough evidence to prove it that's for sure. There is a lot of pictures, some audio recordings, a few text messages, and a video or two of them."

" Why hasn't Aria or Ezra destroyed the evidence yet?"

That was a good question. Aria had to know that he had something that proved what her and Ezra were doing. She had found out after he made too many references to it while he was talking to Mona at school. He didn't think Aria was close enough to hear him at first. How was he to know that Aria was in the room right next to where they were talking. Then again the open door really should have gave him a clue.

" I don't know why really since Aria had listened in on us a few times. She wouldn't be able to destroy the evidence now. After we found out Aria was snooping I made multiple copies of everything. Even if she did destroy all the pictures and deleted everything else it wont do her any good. I put everything on a flash drive as soon as I got home that day just incase."

" That's really smart. Bring the stuff over to my house tomorrow and we can look at all of it. After that, I can 'reward' you since you did so well with this"

Mike was smiling now. Things were going his way now. He had a friend who was going to help him get his grades up so hey can stay on the lacrosse team. He also made Mona really happy.

He had wondered if he did good with this but the way Mona said reward proved that he did perfectly with this. That reward of hers . . . . . just the thought of it was enough to drive him crazy.

It was almost 4 when he heard a car pull up. He looked out the living room window thinking he would see Mindy. He couldn't have been more wrong. That was Ezra's car. So its finally happened. Ezra must have finally decided that the only way to keep his secret was to kill him.

He is crushed. The only one who knew that he would be alone was Aria. He hasn't exactly been the best brother but to do this to him . . . it was more than he could bear. He was a dead man and it was thanks to his sister.

Mike decided against trying to escape. If he ran, Ezra would go after Mona because she is involved in this as well. At least that flash drive was in his pocket. Hopefully someone would find and use it to help bring him to justice.

His time was quickly running out. At least Mindy wasn't here yet. At least she wouldn't be attacked by Ezra.

He didn't have a lot of time left but he still had some time to say something to Mona. It was something he wanted to say to her for a long time now but was too scared to. He was about to tell her the three words that every girl wants to hear. It was just too bad that he might never get another chance to say it but at least if he dies here at least he wont have any regrets.

" I love you Mona Vanderwaal." He then hung up the phone. If Ezra didn't know he was talking to Mona, then he wouldn't have any reason to go after her. He had one last trick up his sleeve though.

Ezra may kill him here but if he drops him in the right place outside then Mindy would be able to find him. She was friends with Mona so Ezra would get what was coming to him.

* * *

><p>Mindy was in behind the fence of the Montgomery's back yard. She would have gotten here sooner but she had to deal with Cindy first.<p>

Sometimes Cindy really baffled her. Why was she resisting every order that Alison gave her?

Cindy knew what would happen when she asked Mindy to put in a good word for her with Alison. It took time but eventually Alison accepted her into the group just as she did any other new member.

Why was she still being stubborn? She knew that Alison had little to no tolerance for disloyalty. Knowing that, why would she intentionally anger her. Was it so she could defect back to Mona?

It was unlikely but a possibility. All Cindy would have to do is tell Mona that she was really on her side and that she only pretended to be on Alison's side just so she could sabotage her.

She didn't even need to tell her the first part yet because Mona didn't know that Cindy defected yet. After all, it was Mindy who got Alison a position in her group/army or whatever Alison wanted to call it.

This meant that Mindy could defect back to Mona by telling her that she helped Cindy by getting her into Alison's group. She could do that easily but there was no way in hell she was going to.

She defected from Mona for a few reasons. The biggest reason was Alison had apologized for bullying her in the past. Mona bullied her around the same time that Alison did but she never apologized.

Mona never apologized for anything she did back then. She couldn't believe that Mike was with her. He must get to see a side of her that no else knows existed. There must be something about her that Mike loves.

Her thoughts continued like this until she felt someone grab her shoulder. Now she was caught for sure. She would fail to complete her assignment and Alison would . . . . . . .

wait a minute it was Alison who grabbed her shoulder. She must be here to make sure things go the way she wants them to. It looks like she brought a friend with her to help out.

" You see anything?"

" Not yet but I saw Ezra's car just a second ago."

" Then we got here just in time."

Alison came as soon as she made sure Cindy was at Hanna's. Once she got the bad feeling, she decided she was going along with Mindy but Mindy already had left her house. She realized that fighting with Cindy at this point was nothing but time consuming.

Alison had told Cindy after school what would happen to her if she didn't do as she asked. On her way to meet Mindy she ran into Noel. At first she just planning on ignoring him and heading straight to her destination but she reconsidered.

This was Mike's friend. If she could get his help things would go smoother later in the plan. Also, Mike would have to be carried a good distance before they can do anything else. Alison and Mindy couldn't carry him the whole way. Plus with Ezra there they needed someone else just incase he went after them.

It was easy to recruit him for this task once she mentioned Mike being in trouble. After getting him she stopped by Mindy's to pick her up since she was likely arguing with her sister about Cindy's assignment.

She was surprised when she learned that Mindy was already where she was supposed to be. Unfortunately, when they got there the only place to park was right beside Ezra's car. Luckily they were able to sneak around back without being noticed.

Alison turned to Noel and explained what she wanted him to do.

" Once Ezra walks away you have to carry him out of there and to my car. Mindy will get in her car first and lead us there."

After saying that Alison saw that Mike was walking outside with Ezra so she took out her phone and began recording.

* * *

><p>Mona was shocked.<p>

Her boyfriend had just told her he loved her. She knew that he loved her. Mike showed her that many times. She never thought he would be able to say it but he just said it to her.

She should be happy and a small part of her was happy. However every other part of her screamed something was seriously wrong.

After all, when Mike said it his tone suggested something more than love. His tone suggested that he didn't think he would have another chance to say it. That is ridiculous. Why wouldn't he have another chance? What could stop him from saying it again?

Mona's face was as pale as snow when she realized the answer to those questions. It wasn't a matter of _what_, it was a matter of _who_. Who would stop him from getting that chance? Ezra Fitz would.

He was the only one Mike knew with a secret big enough to kill for. Aria knew that Mike knew her and Ezra's secret but she didn't do anything. She must have a lot of faith in Mike to keep the secret.

Obviously Ezra didn't share that faith. He hadn't tried to do anything to Mike before now but a few months go he started acting different. He would glare at him every time Mike was near him but never did so in front of Aria.

He also remembered anything Aria said about her brother. If the glare wasn't enough, this behavior raised a huge red flag. Why would Ezra need to know anything about Mike other than the fact that he was Aria's brother?

She was extremely concerned when Ezra changed his behavior yet again. Ezra was now trying to be friends with him. That was bad enough but when he suggested that the two of them hang out she put her foot down.

Mona made him promise that he would never be alone with Ezra under any circumstances. He agreed without any hesitation since he had seen the signs as well. The only one who didn't see the signs was Aria.

She hoped that was the case. If Mona ever found out that Aria saw the signs and ignored them, A better get her before she does. Finding out Aria's knowledge or involvement was secondary.

The most important thing was her boyfriend. Was he okay? Where was he? Why did he sound so worried? Those were the questions she wanted answers to. Make no mistake about it, she was going to get the answers she wanted come hell or high water.

The first stop was obviously her boyfriend's house. If she hurried she might be able to stop whatever was happening. Still to go in there unarmed would be suicide plain and simple.

Lucky for her she had a solution to that particular problem. She owned a Pink 9mm Pistol. Mona had hoped she would never have to use it. Unfortunately this problem seems to possess no other solution.

She had also heard something from Cindy. Apparently Alison was planning on recruiting her boyfriend for her group. Normally this would be a huge problem but today it might be the thing that saves him.

After all if Alison was going to recruit him today that means there is a really good chance of her knowing something about Mike's current predicament. If Cindy was right that means Alison would not let him die and would do whatever it took to make sure he gets out of there alive.

The big problem with that was once she saved him he would most likely be taken with her. She called Noel to see if he would help. It turns out he was at Mike's house with Alison and Mindy. The good news was that Noel promised to call her as soon as they got him to a safe place. He also confirmed her suspicions about Ezra being the one who was going to hurt Mike.

Mona was not going to sit back and do nothing though. It is her boyfriend that is in danger and she is not going to leave it to her enemy to save him. There was too much on the line for her for it to left up to Alison.

She was going over there and she was going to get the answers she wanted one way or another.

* * *

><p>Ezra had just pulled up to the Montgomery House. He was going to make sure that his secret stayed a secret.<p>

Mike couldn't be trusted to keep his mouth shut forever. How can he when you have Mona whispering in his ear? He tried to simply gain his trust and then destroy the evidence but that didn't work since Mona warned him not to be alone with him.

Luckily Aria told him he would be alone for awhile. This make things so much easier.

He went inside and found no one however the back door was open. Mike's White German Shepard named Leo was sleeping upstairs. He always slept around that time since usually Mike was at lacrosse practice. It was good for Ezra that he was sleeping because Leo absolutely despised him. He barely let Aria near Mike when Ezra was around.

This worry about the secret was going to end today no matter what it took.

* * *

><p>Mike was in the backyard waiting for Ezra. He was about to give up when he thought he saw Mindy and Noel on the other side of the fence. He also saw that someone on the other side had there phone out.<p>

It was obvious what was supposed to happen now. Ezra would attack him out here. He was confident Ezra wouldn't kill him. Ezra seemed like the type that would just let him bleed to death out here.

Since Noel was with Mindy that means they know what Ezra is planning on doing. He now realizes that his chances of surviving have gone through the rook. Once this was over he would have to be very careful around Aria.

He still didn't know her intentions. It was clear that Ezra found out he would be alone because Aria told him so. That was never in question. The question was of Aria's intentions.

Did his sister arrange for him to be murdered by Ezra? That is one question he didn't know the answer to. She was so confusing lately he didn't know what to think. However maybe some recent facts could help figure this out.

There was the case of a guy attacking his girlfriend Mona. Since Aria played a major part in this he practically knew the guy was Ezra. He didn't have anything that proved it but who else could it be?

She may have set Mona up. That fact made Aria look bad. However, Aria saved his girlfriend shortly after. It was clear that Aria didn't want Mona seriously injured at least. Maybe she wasn't really bad.

His dog Leo was friendly towards her when Ezra wasn't around. He would let her pet him, scratch his belly, and walk him once in a while. He liked all her friends except Hanna. He would always bark at her when she was around. There was one time Hanna accidentally stepped on his tail when he was sleeping. Leo had chased her all around the house and it took him at least an hour to calm Leo down. He was worse with Ezra though. Leo never liked him. He hated Ezra more than Mike's dad did. Leo came up with a game he liked to call Ezra gets scared. He played it every time he saw Ezra. He would chase Ezra around the house when he got the chance. Leo almost bit Ezra seven times in the last month alone.

There is also the situation they are dealing with now. Mike was now alone with someone who is going to try killing him because of his sister. Only two other people besides him knew he was going to be alone.

Mindy was behind the fence so it couldn't have been her that told Ezra. Aria on the other hand had a reason. She wanted this secret to stay secret the question was would she kill to keep this secret.

She had only killed one person and that was because she shot Ezra and tried to kill her and her friends which at the time included Alison DiLaurentis. Well Aria thinks that person is dead.

That is not the case. The person named Shana is still very much alive. Mike has spoken to her a few times and he even slept with her one time before he and Mona got together.

She was plotting her revenge. Mike managed to talk her out of killing. After all, dead people cant learn or feel. He wished he had her patience because right now he was anxious. He didn't want to be attacked but he realizes it is inevitable. He just wants this attack to be done and over with.

It looked like he was about to get his wish because he felt someone grab his shoulder.

He turned to swing at the person but Ezra said that "he just wanted to talk."

" We both know that's not true. You may be able to fool Aria but you wont fool me. I know why you're really here."

Ezra paled. The kid was smart. If Mike knew why he was really here then he must have some sort of escape plan. He was going to get the information he wanted then he was going to kill him.

" just because you know what I am planning doesn't mean you can stop it."

" That's true. By coming here, you of all people should realize that."

Ezra knew what that meant. Now Mike's plan became crystal clear. He knew he was going to die here so he hatched one last plan to bring him down. Now he is caught between a rock and a hard place. If he kills Mike he will be ruined. If he spares Mike he will still be ruined for coming over here today.

Listening to Aria screwed him. Actually since we are going for accuracy it was saying yes to Aria that screwed him. Even when he first heard Mike was going to be alone he didn't know if he was going to go through with it.

He wanted to keep his secret but he wasn't sure if it was worth killing him over. After all, Aria mentioned that it was Mona who put him on this pathway to his own demise. He knew was going to get caught. Ezra was finished but if he was going down he wasn't going down alone. Still it would be great if he had some idea what Mike's plan was.

" Where is it?"

" The one place you would never think to look."

" The proof is with Mona."

This was bad. Some proof was already with Mona. Mike couldn't let Ezra go after her.

" Did you really think I would be that stupid? Mona would keep it safe but she is much too obvious. I am trying to keep the proof away from you. Why would I give to someone so obvious?"

Ezra thought the same way. In fact he believed that it was so obvious that no one would think that she had the evidence. Mona couldn't have any proof. If she did then this secret would have been exposed by now.

Mike noticed Ezra was about to walk away. He couldn't let it happen. After all, he hasn't committed any crime yet. If he committed a crime here now, it would all be over for him and the best part was they could still use the proof of Ezra's secret to control Aria. However he still needed to get Ezra to attack him.

" If you haven't realized it yet Ezra you're fucked. There is no way for your secret to stay secret. If you kill me like you had planned, you get to deal with my last plan. Your secret coming out would be the least of your worries if you took this route. If I die now, you will die soon afterwards.

Of course you could just walk away. If you do that however you are taking a chance on someone who hates you and wants you out of his life forever. You basically admitted you were here to kill me. You gave yourself away with what you said after I said that I knew what you were planning. There is no way that I can simply let it go and let bygones be bygones. The minute you leave your secret will be out in the open and you know it. So one question remains. Are you going to leave here without trying to kill me or are you going to commit the ultimate act of cowardice in a futile attempt to keep your relationship with Aria secret?"

Ezra was just about to walk away when he heard what Mike said. The kid may be a lot of things but he wasn't a liar in this case. He couldn't believe it. He was about to lose everything he cared about no matter what decision he made. His disbelief turned to rage. How could he be outsmarted by a fucking kid? This kid wouldn't hesitate to expose his secret if he made it out of here.

On the bright side, he figured out what Mike's back up plan was. He was too quick in saying Mona didn't have it and that she would be too obvious. Ezra thinking on that was correct. She was too obvious and therefore no one would even think of her being involved with this. There was still a chance to save himself but he would have to act fast. Mike was going to die here and then he was going after Mona. With those two out of the way, he was safe.

He took out the knife he had in his pocket and stabbed him in the gut. Mike's eyes had widened in shock. He must not have thought he was going to die. Well he should have kept his big mouth shut. Now he was going to pay the ultimate price.

* * *

><p>Mike knew he was going to be attacked. That was part of the plan. However, the knife was a shock. Ezra didn't seem like the kind of guy who would stab someone to death. He had to defend himself.<p>

He tried to get away from him but Ezra had grabbed him by the throat and started to strangle him. He thought he was going to survive this but now he wasn't sure of anything except for one thing.

Mike Montgomery wasn't going to go down without a fight. He tried to pry Ezra's hands off of his throat. However, the blood loss was making him weaker and weaker by the second.

His life was starting to flash before his eyes and he had thought he wouldn't regret anything if he died here today. Mike realized he was wrong for believing that. There were so many things he hadn't got to do yet.

He swung his foot and luckily it connected with Ezra's groin. He could breath again. Ezra was down but it wont last long. He had to make the most of this chance. He should try putting some distance between them but on the other hand he could get a kick in to Ezra's ribs.

He went for it. Mike kicked Ezra in the ribs as hard as he could.

The good news was that Ezra was in pain. The bad news is he used up all of his energy to deliver that kick. Well he at least got to injure Ezra before the end. He saw Ezra coming towards him about to deliver the final blow.

Mike closed his eyes and waited for the blow but in never came. What happened? Ezra must be waiting for him to open his eyes. He opened his eyes and was never happier to see Noel.

Noel had knocked Ezra out with a kick to the side of the head. Mindy and Alison were by his side trying to stop the bleeding.

* * *

><p>Alison's plan had went off without a hitch so far.<p>

She was surprised when Ezra was about to walk away without doing anything. If that happened then this plan would have been changed. It wouldn't be ruined but it would push back a few parts which would make things more difficult later down the road.

She was impressed with Mike. It turns out that he was a tool of the greatest value. First he spots her, Mindy, and Noel. That is not what impressed her. What impressed her was his thinking.

When he saw them all he had put two and two together and moved closer to them so she could record. Alison wasn't surprised. After all Aria must have mentioned her dozens of times to Mike.

That would explain why Mike knew something was up. However, he was also a listener. With Mona and Aria around, he was bound to pick up a few things here and there. It saved her the trouble of having to explain certain things to him.

It was also possible that he was this way all along and no one knew. That was also a good explanation since neither A nor Mona tried to recruit him into there respective groups.

If Mona or A knew how valuable a tool he could be, they would have recruited him already. Now because of there mistake in not realizing this, she has the perfect tool to take down Mona, A, and Aria and her friends.

Who would be first though? Since no one really knows the true identity of A, there would be no point in revenge against her. Aria and her friends seemed like a good choice.

After all, they didn't have a big group like she and Mona did. The only real threat was Spencer. Spencer knew most of her methods inside and out. She was bad enough on her own but with Aria, Emily, and Hanna backing her the four of them were almost unbeatable.

It was lucky that Alison knew who the weak link in the team was. Hanna was the weakest by far. She had to save Hanna from the consequences of her bad choices at least a dozen times.

One of her bad choices was he fling with Mike, who just stopped bleeding for the most part. She hated the fact that Hanna had the fling with Aria's brother. Alison really didn't like any girl Mike was with but Hanna was the one she disliked most.

She had ended that fling quite easily. That was the first time she realized that he had potential. Mike Montgomery had the potential to be her greatest tool ever one day. He had to be groomed for that spot first and that meant Hanna couldn't be a distraction.

Another girl had taken Hanna's spot though. It was another blonde whose name was Ashley. She was even worse than Hanna was. Alison saw all the potential Mike had to be her best tool about to go down the drain. She wasn't going to let that happen.

She tried talking to Ashley but that just lead to a huge argument. Ultimately, Ashley made the fatal mistake of slapping her. Ashley had left school that day and Mike hasn't seen her since that day.

No matter what anyone said she was doing this so she could make him her tool one day in the future. There was no way that she was jealous. Those girls were in the way of her plan and so they were removed it. Mona was the same way and soon she would be removed as well. She hated Mona more than ever now but it had absolutely nothing to do with jealously.

At least that is what she told herself every now and then.

* * *

><p>Noel was shocked at seeing this whole situation play out.<p>

He may have been saved physically but he was broken emotionally. Gone was the kid that was kind. That piece of his friend died a few years ago when this A business started.

Noel knew the feeling. He had felt someone pull out his heart and crush it without knowing or caring. That is the very thing Mike's sister Aria did to him when she had cheated on him with Ezra.

Things only went downhill from there. He couldn't get into a relationship with anyone because he worried that someone else would do what Aria did. He couldn't even have a friends with benefits deal either because he still thought about Aria.

Eventually his insecurities and doubts had turned him into a loner but the pain didn't end. He tried everything he could to prove he was happy being single but nothing worked.

It accomplished the exact opposite of his goal. He felt progressively worse with each new attempt. Noel wanted to be happy but there was no way he could truly be happy for very long single.

Everyone tried to help him. Mona and Alison had even worked together during that time to help him. It didn't work out well at first but then his best friend Mike, who also happened to be Mona's boyfriend, stepped in to help.

It was a slow process they used but it worked. Eventually he started to feel happiness again. He hung out with Mike just like they used to before all the drama with Aria. He even hung out with Alison and Mona once or twice. Every other time he hung out with one or the other.

A few weeks ago, Alison had set him up on a date with the help of Mike and Mona. Well he didn't know how much Mona had helped since Alison was sending glares her way but that is beside the point.

The points is that thanks to them he had a date. He was worried until he realized Mike had helped set him up. His best friend wouldn't set him up with someone he would hate. Mona might but not Mike.

The date went off without a hitch. The girl was interesting but they were just going to be friends at most. He just didn't feel that spark and now they were back to the root of the whole problem.

He couldn't get over Aria. After everything the problem was still there. He couldn't let his friends see him like this so he put the problem at the back of his mind. They never saw him depressed again.

When Alison talked to him earlier he thought it was because she figured out he was lying about the problem going away. Mike would never mention it unless he saw it or he said something to him. Mona was like Alison but she wouldn't say anything unless Mike did.

He was shocked to hear the words that came out of her mouth. Ezra was going to hurt Mike and possibly kill him. At first, he didn't want to believe it. He hated Ezra but he didn't think Ezra would kill his best friend.

Then it hit him like a wrecking ball going through brick. Ezra had a motive and a pretty good one at that. Mike knew that he was sleeping with his sister and he had a substantial amount of evidence proving the relationship is real.

Still he wasn't convinced Ezra would attack today. After all, if Ezra wanted to do something about Mike, why not do something before? I mean the longer he waits the bigger chance there is of the secret coming to light.

"Ezra didn't have a chance to be alone with Mike until today." When Alison said those words to him he had a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach. Ezra was going to try and kill his best friend?

Well he wasn't going to succeed as long as Noel Kahn was around that's for damn sure. He then got into the car which had her dog Sasha in the backseat and they went to Mike's house.

What he saw enraged him. The prick stabbed his best friend in the stomach.

Seeing him bleed out was bad enough on its own, but when Ezra started choking him he had lost it. Luckily Mike got a good two shots in on him. That gave Noel the perfect target to stop Ezra.

He took him down the second that he saw Ezra was going to finish him off. This had gone way too far but luckily the sight of Ezra about to kill his best friend snapped him out of the shock he was feeling.

He punched Ezra in the ribs and it caused extra damage to Ezra since Mike had kicked him in the exact same spot. He wanted to take his time with this but he needed to end this quickly so while he was down he had kicked him in the side of the head.

After Ezra was down Noel dragged him back into the house and set him on the couch. Noel had a reason for doing this. Once Ezra woke up he would think he had dreamed the whole thing. The best part of this plan of his was once he realized it wasn't a dream it would be too late for him. Mona would be here and she would most likely come armed and ready to shoot first ask questions never.

The bad news was that Mona would have to deal with Aria. Aria would defend this prick after what he had done. Even though Ezra attacked Mike, this wasn't all his fault. Aria was the one who gave him the opportunity. He would ask Mona to find out if Aria knew what she was doing when Ezra attacked him. Mona was a good judge of body language. She would be able to tell if Aria wanted this to happen or not. This was his plan but he didn't want to be anywhere near her.

Still for this plan of his to work Ezra needs to be kept here until Mona gets here. Luckily there is a white German Shepard upstairs who would love to help.

Noel quickly got Leo downstairs and Leo started to bark at Ezra immediately. He told the dog to make sure he doesn't leave and hoped that worked. Leo laid down in front of Ezra. He wasn't going to let him get away.

Leo watched as Noel walked out the back door and closed it on the way out.

* * *

><p>Mindy had just gotten Mike to his feet. It was lucky he could stand at all even with help. Ezra sure did a number on him but the good news was Ezra's punishment wasn't anywhere near over.<p>

Mona was coming over. When she found out what Ezra did to her boyfriend she wouldn't be happy to say the least.

Mona Vanderwaal was protective of what was hers. She was extremely protective of her boyfriend. Ezra will most likely die here today. She hoped Mona could control her temper and let him live.

She didn't care for Ezra one bit and she never did. However if Mona kills him here today Mike will be blamed. After all, Mike was home alone at the time so if she did anything he would take the fall for it.

All of this work would be for nothing if that happened. Alison wouldn't just be mad about this, she would be furious. She may have kept cool in the face of failure before but this time she would lose her temper and take her rage out on anyone involved with this failure.

She wasn't going to survive an enraged Alison so she may have to come back and physically stop Mona from killing Ezra. Just the thought of stopping Mona from killing Ezra made her sick but still it had to be done.

Luckily Aria would be here soon if her watch was right.

Holy shit, Aria was going to be here in 30 minutes. Normally that would give them plenty of time to get out of here but getting Mike to the car could put a huge dent in that time and that was if she was right about Aria.

30 minutes was the absolute maximum time they had. They had to get out of here now. It took about ten minutes to get him to the car and they had to hide at one point because Spencer's car just went by. Hopefully she didn't see them especially Alison. All it would take was Spencer spotting Alison for this whole thing to go up in flames.

Just to be safe, Mike went in her car so no one else would get suspicious. Also, Sasha was really friendly to people and she might end up hurting Mike accidentally.

They made it out of there with only moments to spare in her opinion.

* * *

><p>Spencer Hastings had driven by Aria's house.<p>

She slowed down however when she thought she saw something suspicious. At first she thought it was nothing but she wasn't sure so she parked her car far enough way where whoever was hiding couldn't see her.

She knew someone was there because as soon as got close enough to the house she saw a group of people hide. Spencer knew that someone was definitely there and decided to wait long enough to get a glimpse of there faces.

These people must be working for A, Alison, or Mona. It had to be one of the three. The question was which one was it?

She knew why these people were there. They were trying to stop Aria from interfering in there plans. The difference between the three is how they were going to accomplish that.

A would use murder. Alison would use her favorite weapon : blackmail. Mona would most likely try the same thing but with her past she could do what A is planning to do. The point is no matter who it is, they are up to no good.

However what she saw shocked her. There was Mindy , Noel, Mike, and Alison. Looks like Alison got a new soldier for her army. She was surprised it didn't happen sooner.

Honestly she thought Mona would have tried to recruit him long ago. Then again Alison has played God in his life before so this might be the day she finally decided to add him to her army.

She was just about to call Aria and tell her what was going on. She had her finger on the button when she saw another shock that she thought she would never witness in her lifetime.

Alison was trying help Mike, who was clearly injured to a car. It wasn't her car but still Alison was helping someone who was injured. She is going to great lengths to recruit him especially if Noel is in on this.

She was recruiting Mike in order to control Aria. After all, he knows many secrets about her and if they got into the wrong hands well Aria would be finished. Come to think of it he had a fling with Hanna.

That meant he knew some secrets about Hanna that would crush her. Hanna was too trusting. She told him everything and then she broke up with him a while ago. Now he knows secrets of at least two of them and with Aria's mouth he may know everything.

The biggest problem with Mike clearly being attacked was Alison had saved him. Once she helps him recover he might feel the need or want to spill all the secrets. He was interesting. His knowledge saved him and it was probably the cause of his injuries.

Once Alison and the rest of them took off she made a choice. She was going to follow them and stop there plan. Since Noel was there this would be easy to accomplish.

After all, his best friend wouldn't let him join the enemy, would he?

* * *

><p>Now we focus our attention on the one who caused all of this : Aria Montgomery.<p>

Aria was just about to head home. It was about time to see how well the chat between Ezra and her brother Mike went. Hopefully Ezra didn't do anything to anger her brother.

That was the dumbest thing he could possibly due. He needed to remember that he knew there secret and he had proof. If that wasn't bad enough, he had Mona whispering in his ear now.

Mona didn't need any prompting to ruin them both. If Ezra did anything to anger Mike, it would be bad obviously.

However, if he tried to actually hurt him that would be much worse. Once Mona and her had become enemies Mona feared that Mike would be hurt. She had made it crystal clear that Aria would not like what happened should her boyfriend be hurt by her in any way, shape, or form.

Mona had become really protective once they were no longer friends. She had also convinced Mike to spill her and Ezra's secret to everyone. Mona knew what sort of damage that would cause.

That is why she needed someone to talk to Mike. He was being manipulated by Mona at every turn. He hated Hanna now so she couldn't get her to do it. Spencer would lecture him which would insult him. Emily was the worst choice. With her temper, he would get upset and he would expose the secret within the hour.

Noel certainly wouldn't help her. He told her that he wanted nothing to do with her. She should have expected as much. She was asking him to help protect the guy she cheated on him with. What the hell was she thinking? After that Noel headed home she thought.

Anyway the point is that she asked Ezra to talk to him. She was reluctant to do so though. After all, Ezra's behavior towards Mike has changed at least five times in the last two or three months alone.

Even the worst behavior change wasn't really all that bad. However it did make Aria watch Ezra more closely whenever he was around Mike. Luckily Mona had convinced Mike it was best to never be alone with Ezra.

The only problem is Ezra is the only one she knew that might be able to help him. This wouldn't be a problem if she had dated Ezra first and then cheated on him with Noel. Noel was always there for her and now Ezra only really came around when he wanted sex.

She was thinking about breaking up with Ezra for good. She had recently found out what Noah had went through after she started seeing Ezra. The damage was a lot worse than she had anticipated. Mona and Alison along with Mike had all worked together to put him back together but they had limited success. She had made the worst mistake of her life and she didn't know what to about it.

Well to be fair, the problem was more along the lines of her not knowing exactly how to get what she wanted. She wanted to fix things with Noel now. It wasn't fair to Ezra that they are in any relationship at all now that she knew without a doubt in her mind what and who she wanted.

Plus, Ezra changed a lot recently. First, he wanted to get back together but now it was all sex with no emotion no passion. With her mind made up she was about to head home when her cell phone stopped her.

* * *

><p>Alison's plan has just hit the first wall.<p>

Spencer saw them and was following them it looked like. That really puts a damper on things.

They couldn't just take Mike to the hospital. If they did that, all of this planning and playing god would have been for nothing. Alison knew Spencer wasn't going to go away so she had to alter her plan a little bit.

She originally intended for Aria to be the first to fall victim to her plans. After all, she was an easier target than Hanna was and that was saying something. However, Spencer was now the first target.

It may be better this way. After all, she is the biggest threat out of her four former friends. Once Spencer was out of the way things would go much smoother. The question was how should Spencer be taken care of.

They couldn't kill her now. Alison had to get her tool on her side and couldn't take care of it. Noel wouldn't hurt Spencer so he wouldn't kill her. Mindy needed to make sure Mike's injuries didn't get any worse while Alison attempted to get answers out of Mike. She had to make sure Mike didn't suffer any memory loss. He may not have been knocked out but he had hit his head hard twice when Ezra tried to kill him.

Luckily they were at Cindy and Mindy's house and they could get Mike inside for questioning. If Spencer wanted to know anything she would have to come inside. The question is how will she approach this.

Will she just come in the front door or Will she try and sneak in the back door in an attempt to "rescue" him from her evil clutches. That is why she brought Sasha along with her.

Sasha likes running around the house and she hates Spencer. This is important because if Spencer tries to sneak in for a "rescue" mission, Sasha would run into her. Sasha would start barking and Spencer's pitiful "rescue" attempt will fail.

Spencer would probably be too worried that the front door was a trap to consider using it.

Either way, once Spencer was inside she could turn her against Aria. The thing that no one realizes is that Spencer and Mike have something in common. They both have major issues with there sisters.

It was true that Spencer was friends with Aria, which normally would make a plan like this difficult if not impossible to accomplish. However, this was a matter of the older sibling hurting the younger sibling.

It was something Spencer was familiar with. Spencer always hated her older sister and today she hates her more than she ever did. All she had to do was prove to her that Aria caused Mike's near death. That is one of the situations where the recording of the whole thing had a use.

As she parked her car and got Sasha out she began thinking. Spencer would end up asking Mike the same question she would Alison. If his answers matched hers, there would be a rift formed between Spencer and Aria.

However, her confidence turned into worry as Mindy came over to her.

" You're not going to get any answers out of him right now."

" Why not?"

Mindy hesitated to tell her for fear of angering her. Alison took one look at Mindy's expression and instantly realize what she meant. Her new tool was unconscious. This made her alter her plan a little bit.

Instead of getting answers from him, she would have to do all the talking to Spencer and Aria and Mona probably. She needed more time. Luckily Noel and Mindy managed to carry him inside.

She needed Spencer to believe that she was the hero for once. However, if she took them to her house Spencer could spy on them all the time. It wasn't a risk she was willing to take at this time.

It had nothing to do with the fact that she was worried he might not make it there in one piece.

* * *

><p>Mona was outside Mike's house and noticed blood and plenty of it.<p>

She knew it was going to be bad. It was a lot worse than she expected. She thought she would arrive just in time but now it looks like she arrived a little too late. However, all was not lost.

Cindy told her that Mindy was going to be her today. She may have saved him. That would explain why he wasn't here and why Mindy hasn't called her yet. She still needed to find out what had happened here.

She then spotted Ezra's car and instantly put the puzzle together. Ezra came over here in an attempt to stop her boyfriend from revealing his secret and ruining his life. Mike must not have cooperated.

The amount of blood outside indicates he was stabbed and then walked or was carried to a car out front. She followed the trail of blood all the way around to the back of the house and looked through the sliding glass door to see Leo barking at somebody.

There was only two people he barked at like that and with Ezra's car out front it was easy to figure out which one of them it his.

Leo ran up to her as soon as she came in the back door. He was whining which was a bad sign. The only other time she had heard him whine was when Mike fell down the stairs and broke his leg.

This wasn't as simple as a fall down the stairs. This was the possible murder of her boyfriend and she wanted some fucking answers now.

Leo started walking back into the living room and started barking. He was trying to tell her that Ezra did it. His bloody shirt gave him away. That and the fact that Leo smelled Mike on him.

She pulled Leo back away from Ezra. After all, she didn't want to accidentally hit him when she wants to shoot Ezra. It was all going to come to an end very soon.

Ezra would be dead. That would be best. Then again it might not be. Once the police realize Ezra is dead, they will start digging for answers. That would eventually lead them to Mike and Mona.

Mike would be blamed for something he didn't do. She couldn't shoot Ezra, at least not yet anyway. There was still the matter of where Mike is now. Since Ezra was out cold, whoever knocked him out must have took Mike with them.

She may have had a good idea who we was with but without confirmation she wasn't going to leave and give Ezra the chance to cover this up. Come to think of it, he wasn't going to be given a chance to cover this up.

As soon as he gave her the answers she wanted, she would put an end to this problem with Ezra once and for all. After all, she couldn't just let him go after this. He would just come back and try again and she would be back in Radley before where she couldn't stop him.

Whatever she decided to do, she would have to do it quick. She still had to make sure her boyfriend was okay and this would take up a lot of time.

She heard Leo bark louder and louder and drew her gun since that could only mean one thing.

Ezra was awake and moving.

* * *

><p>Aria looked at her phone and was shocked at the message on it.<p>

Mike was injured plus Noel and Alison along with Mindy had carried him off to who knows where. There was another problem with the message. It didn't mention Ezra at all. He was supposed to be there.

Why didn't he help Mike if he was injured? Alison hated her and the feeling was mutual. Since she saved him, that could mean only one thing.

Alison was planning on using Mike as a tool as soon as he recovered. Noel helped her because a. she couldn't get him out of there by herself and b. Mike trusted Noel with his life.

She had just gotten another message on her phone. Ezra's car was still there but no sign of Ezra.

Aria paled when she realized what she had done. She had set him up, that is how he will probably look at it. If he didn't think that way, then Alison was sure to put the idea in his head.

She should have called Mona after that and gotten her to tell her where Mindy lived. Aria for whatever reason chose to do something else. She was going to head home and find out what happened.

That was a better choice. Knowing Mona, she would probably be there demanding answers. Mona would come to the conclusion that Ezra was the one who attempted to kill her boyfriend.

Mona would then proceed to kill Ezra quickly. She would most likely do this by shooting him in the head at point blank range. She started to head home as soon the thought entered her head.

She couldn't let Mona kill Ezra. The situation looks bad for him, that much is true. However, she doesn't know for sure Ezra was responsible. After all, A could have done this and then proceeded to frame Ezra.

Lets say that Ezra did do it. If she kills him then the cops will arrest Mona, which wouldn't do Mike any good. Speaking of Mike and the cops, the cops would look at Mike like he was a suspect in Ezra's murder.

They would find the proof that Mike had on her and Ezra. That would make Mike look like the bad guy who would do anything to ruin Ezra's life. To be fair, the fact that he had proof and was planning on showing it to people didn't help the argument that he wasn't a bad guy.

A few minutes later she was home and was horrified at what she saw.

There was blood all over the side of the house. In one spot it was particularly bad. It looked like someone had shoved her bloodied brother against the wall and held him there for a few seconds at least.

Even more sickening was the trail of blood that lead from the front of the house all the way to the backyard. Noel must have dragged him all the way from the back of the house to either his, Alison's, or Mindy's car.

Since Noel was involved with this mess, she could safely assume that Mike made it out of here alive. She really didn't know why she was that worried when she realized what Alison's plan was.

Alison planned on using her brother as one of her tools. That meant he had to be alive for that to happen. Alison wouldn't let her plan fall to pieces so that could only mean at this very moment Mike is alive.

Knowing Alison, right now Mike is probably recovering from his injuries. She wouldn't try anything else until he was feeling better because of her. All Aria had to do was find them and stop Alison before she got her brother on her side.

Aria noticed the sliding glass door was open. She could here barking from inside which confirmed her suspicions of Ezra being involved. Leo must have smelled Mike on Ezra. She also noticed Mona pointing a gun at Ezra.

She walked in and attempted to sneak behind Mona and take the gun away from her.

* * *

><p>" So what are we going to do now?"<p>

Alison had to admit she didn't know exactly how to answer Mindy. Her plan to get him here was successful but he wasn't in any shape to really answer too many questions. That last hit to the head combined with the blood loss had knocked him out.

" As soon as he gets up let me know. I need to make sure he has no memory loss. Go watch over him. Spencer Hastings was following us the whole way here. She may have kept a good distance away from us but she could still see us."

Mindy was relieved that Alison didn't sound mad. She must have changed her plan in mid stage or something. Mindy was concerned. Spencer was there biggest threat according to Alison.

It made sense to go after the biggest threat first but was it wise to do so at this time? After all, according to Alison this is one of the most important stages of the plan if not the most important.

So telling Spencer exactly what had happened may not be the best idea. The fact that Alison was seen helping him by Spencer was bad enough. For all they know, Spencer may be thinking that they had something to do with Mike's injuries.

Whatever was going through Spencer's mind on this subject, one thing was clear.

Spencer would be paying them a visit soon. They didn't have enough time to move him far away. If they were to leave right now, they might just be able to make it to Alison's house before Spencer got there.

This was the best option. His injuries shouldn't be aggravated by another trip.

Alison must have a good reason for letting Spencer attempt to sneak in and possibly ruin everything but what was it?

She kept searching her brain for answers until a saying came into her mind. Patrick Henry said it in his last public speech. The saying was " United we stand, divided we fall." Now Alison's plan was obvious and she could see how it would all play out.

Right Now, Aria, Hanna, Emily, and Spencer all see Alison DiLaurentis as a villain. When Spencer saw her doing something heroic by helping to save Aria's brother Mike, it laid the groundwork for her opinion of Mike to change.

Once Spencer came inside the house, Alison would show her Mike's injuries. That would make her stop and think. However, Spencer could say that she had been the cause of said injuries.

It didn't matter how many times Alison tried to explain herself to Spencer, the result would be the same.

Spencer still thought she was nothing but a lying bitch at best. That is one of the reasons why she took the video of the whole incident. Once Spencer saw that, she would see that Alison was a hero in this case.

Of course, due to them taking care of Mike's injuries, no one else would get to see the video. Aria would come over after a while and demand some sort of explanation. Alison would attempt to explain it to her just like Spencer.

Aria wouldn't believe it. She would most likely think that Alison had caused those injuries and dragged him here to kill him. Spencer would attempt to correct her but the problem with that is she really couldn't keep anything from Aria.

Unfortunately for Spencer, that meant mentioning the video. Aria may initially accept the fact that there is a video, but with Noel involved in all of this it would be hard to believe that the video could disappear.

They would get into a big fight and Aria would storm off in a rage. If her calculations were correct, Mike would be awake for hours now and it would be time for him to go home.

Normally this is where Noel would come in. He has worked with them on similar projects before. He could always connect with these people after what they had been through. This time would be different though.

Alison would ask Spencer to take him home. By doing so, Alison is showing trust in Spencer and Spencer wouldn't betray her trust. Also, asking her to do so makes it look like she wants what is best for him. That would make her look more like a hero.

However, this would not be the end of Aria's and Spencer's friendship. They were friends too long for that to happen right away. However, them not being friends anymore after just one argument albeit one over a particularly painful subject was not part of the plan.

Alison's plan was just like a building.

You have to build from the ground up.

* * *

><p>Mona saw that Leo was running past her and saw Aria standing there.<p>

Aria was trying to sneak up on her so she could take her gun away. Well she wasn't going to stand for that.

" You on the couch now."

Aria wanted to argue that Mona cant tell them what to do but then thought better of it. With Mona being armed and no one else coming to help them , she could tell them both exactly what she wanted them to do.

Once she was seated next to Ezra, Mona asked the one question she wanted to know the answer to above all others.

"Where is he?"

Aria wanted to take the gun away from her but now she is going to wait for Ezra's answer before doing anything. Mona, for all of her faults and bad points, protects the ones she loves.

She doesn't tolerate anyone threating what was hers in any way, shape, or form. Mona was also a lot like Alison. They both knew how to read between the lines. Mona must have found out that Mike was in danger.

Mona had taken the gun with her once she found out about her boyfriend. It was good idea since the attacker could still be around.

Based on the evidence, Aria had a strong suspicion Ezra was the attacker. After all, the only other person who should know about him being alone was Mindy. Mindy couldn't have done this because of what Spencer had told her.

Mindy and Noel had helped Alison move her brother to somewhere safe. Noel was Mike's best friend. He wouldn't be involved with anyone who attempted to hurt him. That meant that in this situation it was Alison who saved him.

However, she knows that Alison didn't have good intentions. She probably wanted him to be her tool. That meant he had to be alive for that. There was no way that Alison could have done this, that left only one person.

Ezra attacked her brother and she was the one who set it up by telling him Mike was alone. How could she have been so stupid? All the signs have been there for months now and she ignored them.

Now Mike was hurt because she didn't do anything before now. Once Mike recovered, he was likely join Alison's group but it wouldn't be as a mere tool. Since it was Alison they were talking about, she must know everything about him.

She knew that the one thing he was after above all else was to be somebody. He was a somebody with Mona and he knew that beyond the shadow of a doubt. However, he still wanted to be popular. It wasn't a bad thing to want to be popular. A lot of people wanted to be popular.

The part that made it wrong was Alison. It was true that Alison could make him as popular as he wanted to be. Knowing her, she would get him more popularity then he wanted so he would have another reason to be loyal to her.

Making a deal with Alison is dangerous. Mike has no idea what would happen if he joined Alison but she does.

It would start off great at first. Alison would help him accomplish his hidden desire to be popular. For Mike, it would finally feel like he had everything he had ever wanted.

That wouldn't last long. Once he joins her group, Alison will manipulate him into doing her bidding. He would obey without question and it would cost him everything in the end.

That could be dealt with later. Right now she was going to hear Ezra's answer to Mona's question.

Ezra could lie about this. After all, even though the evidence looked bad it didn't prove that he was the one who attacked Mike. She then noticed something that Mona didn't yet.

" Why is your shirt all bloody?"

Ezra didn't say anything thing and that was when Aria knew. She had set her brother up and now he was going to be looking for revenge.

Well he would be looking for revenge on Aria because it looks like Ezra is about to get shot by Mona.

One way or another he was going to learn a very painful lesson.

Hell hath no fury like a girl protecting someone she loves.

* * *

><p>" What do we do after this?"<p>

Alison knew what they had to do.

They had to send Mike home if he wakes up soon. There were many problems with that and these problems had the potential to ruin the plan she has spent years coming up with.

Mona was the biggest problem of them all. She was the one thing that could stop her plans, no matter what stage they were in. Her relationship with Mike was a problem.

As long as they were together, she could influence her tool into making choices that would go against what she wanted.

That relationship had to be ended. It would be better for everyone that way. Well it wouldn't be better for Mona. Mona would go back to that loser girl that no one wants anything to do with.

It didn't have to be like this. Mona sealed her fate by being with Mike. She must have known that Alison was playing god in his life for a few years now. After all, she had unintentionally left a few clues that pointed to her over that long period of time.

Once it was clear Mona was going to interfere she left a calling card as a clue for her. That should have told her to back off. After all, she made Mona a loser once and she would do it again in a heartbeat.

She knew all about Alison's plans concerning Mike. Mona even saw Alison ruin Mike's relationship with Ashley. Alison had a sneaking suspicion that Mona knew exactly what she had done to Ashley.

That should have been enough of a message to back off her tool. Mona ignored the message and decided to go after him. It didn't work at first since Mike realized that someone was interfering in his relationships.

He was playing his part just like he should but then Mona changed all that.

She had seduced him. At first Alison decided she wasn't going to do anything since this was a plan to get revenge on Aria. It didn't stay that way. Mona admitted to Mike that she was seducing him at first to get revenge on his sister but then her feelings changed and now she really loves him.

Mike gave her a chance and the rest was history.

Mona would pay for this, you could be sure of that.

She couldn't be allowed to keep dating her tool. It would create a conflict of interest and Alison would lose every single time. He was too valuable a tool to just discard. After this was all over she was going to keep him in her group.

Alison didn't know why but she had a feeling that he would be in her life long after this is over. She didn't mind feeling this way. After all, her tool already proved he could be useful without someone guiding him the whole way.

She would be taking direct control of her tool now. The time has finally arrived. Her plan would finally be put in motion.

" Mike's awake."

That was a lucky break they caught. If he didn't wake up soon, Noel would have called an ambulance to take him to the hospital.

Noel was a loyal friend of Mike's. That is a good thing in most cases. After all once her plan is set into motion, Noel would be one of the few real friends he has.

When it came to the current situation, that loyalty could have spelled disaster for her master plan. Taking him to the hospital for his injuries would result in cops being called.

The police would have done some digging on her and then she would be ruined. Noel would have to be watched more closely in the future. She would have to be extremely careful dealing with him.

She couldn't stop him from being friends with Mike. However, she couldn't risk him ruining her plans either.

That was a matter for another time. Right now she had some business to conduct.

* * *

><p>Spencer was waiting outside Cindy and Mindy's house.<p>

They may have taken Mike inside to a room but she could still see the rest of them through the window.

Alison was talking to Mindy for a while but then she left the room for some reason.

She guessed it was to check on Mike.

That would make simply getting him out of there without confrontation impossible. Spencer knew Aria's brother was hurt but not how badly. It may not be such a good idea to move him at this point.

However, simply leaving him here was out of the question.

Alison saving him was good. There was no do about it. If Alison had wanted the kid to die, she wouldn't have Noel with her and she would have left him where he was to die.

Spencer question her intentions.

Why did she save him? It wasn't out of the goodness of her heart. Then it hit her.

Mike knew secrets about all of them. Those secrets could ruin them and he now realizes that thanks to Mona. Spencer now regrets pushing Mona away when she wanted friends.

Since then Mona has wanted them all to suffer and she got Mike to spy on them. Even though Mona got the information she wanted, she hasn't used any of it yet. That means that Mona still wants to be friends.

It also means that Mona isn't the big threat. That threat is Alison. Now that she has Mike, she can get all the answers she needs out of him. This wasn't good.

As soon as Alison got what she wanted, Spencer and her friends would be ruined. She thought it would be bad for Mike as well. After all, once she got the answers she was looking for he wouldn't be needed anymore.

She had to get inside and fast.

There was not a lot of time left. She realized this when Mindy entered the living room and Alison left it. Mike must be awake and Alison is going to question him. She tried calling Aria but she never picked up so that meant she was going in alone.

Aria better be doing something important. If she found out otherwise there would be hell to pay.

Spencer thought what would Alison do. She thought this way because Alison wasn't prepared for anyone to do this thinking like her.

Alison would sneak in through the back door and find a place to hide until she could get a chance to get him out. So that is what Spencer would do.

She got out of the car and snuck around the back of the house the same way that Alison, Mindy, and Noel had snuck Mike out of his house. As luck would have it, Cindy and Mindy also have a sliding glass door.

It was already open. This was too easy.

Spencer heard something coming her way and she hid out of sight. This was about to get a lot harder.

Alison's dog Sasha was running around in the backyard. It figures Alison would bring her along for the ride. That dog would sniff her out if she didn't move fast. She snuck in through the back door and luckily there was a staircase in the kitchen that led upstairs.

She hid in a bedroom. Luckily she could hear everything that was being said.

* * *

><p>" You're awake."<p>

Mike saw a beautiful blonde ask him that. She seemed familiar somehow. Now he knew who she was.

" What do you want Hanna?"

Alison normally would be insulted if someone confused her with Hanna. However, in this case she will let it slide just this once.

" Try again."

Now that Mike saw clearly, he could tell it wasn't Hanna. It was Alison DiLaurentis. This meant only one thing. She wanted something. He didn't know what it was yet but you could bet that whatever it was would change his life.

" What do you want Alison?"

That was better. Alison knew for sure that his sight is back. That was a good sign. It looked like they may not have to take him to the hospital after all.

" Who attacked you?"

" Ezra."

"Why did he attack you?"

" To keep his secret."

" What is his secret?"

" He is sleeping with my sister Aria."

" A lot of people knew your secret. Why would he go after you and not everyone else?"

" I have proof of them sleeping together." Now Mike realized what she was doing. She wanted to ask him something or offer him something for a price but she was worried about his memory.

That explains why she asked him questions that she already knew the answers to.

" Do you know who I am?"

" You're Alison DiLaurentis. You used to be friends with Aria and her friends."

" Anything else?"

" Not really. If we are going for honesty than I myself know absolutely nothing about you. All I know about you comes from Aria and Mona."

Alison was surprised that he answered her question that way. He was honest if nothing else and since he was being honest with her that goes a long way in her book this time.

" I am surprised you gave me an honest answer. After all, with your girlfriend and sister hating me I expected you not to cooperate at all."

" Just because they hate you doesn't mean I have to."

Alison was about to say something else when she heard a noise very close to the room she was questioning Mike in. It seemed like Spencer decided to go in alone. She could understand Hanna doing something like that.

Her heart was bigger than her brain. Why wouldn't Spencer wait for Aria to get here first? Then the answer hit her and it will make things even easier than before if it was possible.

Aria must have decided that dealing with Ezra was more important than the welfare of her own brother. Mona would be able to handle Ezra on her own. Aria should have been here by now.

Aria had chosen love or rather lust over family. Even she wouldn't do something like that. She wouldn't do that to her dad anyway. Her brother Jason and mother were a much different story.

That is a story for another time.

When Mike realized that Aria had chosen Ezra over him, he would feel like no one really cared about him. That realization should cause Mike's loyalty to her to never waiver.

Then again, if things went well today there might not be a need for Mike to come to that realization.

She looked out into the hallway and was shocked. Spencer wasn't there, nobody was. She must have imagined it. Alison went back into the room and shut the door.

" That answer shows your independence."

" How?"

" You said that just because Aria and Mona hate me doesn't mean you have to. An answer like that proves you don't let people make choices for you."

Mike thought it made sense. He was about to say something but Alison started again.

" You asked me earlier what I wanted. However this is not about what I want. It is about what you want."

Now he knew where this was going. She was going to make a deal with him. There was no way he was able to leave at the moment so he had to consider it at least for now.

" You don't know what I want."

" You want to be popular."

Mike now realized just how dangerous Alison DiLaurentis truly was. He never told anyone about that. He never even said it out to himself yet Alison finds out somehow.

" So I guess this means you also know why I haven't gotten what I wanted."

" It isn't the fact your dating Mona."

That was a surprise. Alison always hated his girlfriend. So why would she lie and say something like that? Then it came to him. Alison wouldn't lie in this case. If she is saying something in Mona's defense than it must be true.

" You could date Mona for the rest of your time in high school but it wont change anything. The problem has been and always will be your sister Aria. She is the one keeping you from getting what you want."

Mike thought about it and realized Alison was absolutely right. It was all Aria's fault. If it wasn't for her he would be popular right now. She had told everyone about Mona and it was all over for his dream.

" You have a price for helping me I am sure. After all, you never done anything like this out of the goodness of your heart before and I have the feeling your not about to start now. So what do you want?"

Alison liked him a little bit more now. She loved to manipulate people into doing her bidding. However, it was a refreshing change when you have someone who can see through it and still want to work with her.

It was odd that he was like this. After all, with Mona and Aria around, she thought she would have had to resort to her usual threats and other methods.

He would have to be watched closely of course. After all, someone like him could turn on her and take everything she worked so hard to obtain. Of course he would only do that if he was given a reason to. As long as she didn't give him the reason she should be fine.

" Have you heard about the group I put together?"

" Mona mentioned it a few times."

" What did she say?"

" She was talking about how she hated you and that group so much. She said she was going to take that group apart."

That was interesting. She knew Mona hated them but not that she was actually planning on taking action against them.

" What did she tell you about it?"

" She told me that she was going to tear your group apart from the inside out."

That sounded like something Mona would do. At this point she would usually think Mike is the one who would tear her group apart but there were two things wrong with that. The first was this problem was going on before now.

Cindy screwed up more than a few tasks when she was left to her own devices. That has been an issue for a long time now.

The other thing wrong was Mike had told her about this. If he was truly loyal to Mona's group he would never say something like that.

" I will worry about that later. Now I know what I want for sure."

" What is it?"

" I want you to join my group."

Mike was shocked. He never thought he would be asked to join either group. Mona never let him be a part of it and that insulted him. Now Alison, his girlfriend's worst enemy, was asking him to join her group.

He knew what he was going to say now.

However, before he could tell her his answer they heard a loud barking outside the door.

When Alison opened the door she realized she was right earlier about someone being there.

On the other side of the door was Sasha and it looked like she lead wanted her to follow.

Alison followed her to a closet and when she opened the door there was Spencer standing there.

Things were about to change forever and all it would take is one word.


End file.
